US politicians demand phone-hacking investigation after 9/11 claims

Politicians call for felony charges if report that News of the World hacked voicemails of victims is found to be true

Chris McGreal in Washington
The Guardian, Thursday 14 July 2011

Senator Jay Rockefeller called for an investigation into whether News Corp had invaded the privacy of Americans. Photograph: Matthew Cavanaugh/EPA

Political pressure on Rupert Murdoch has spilled across the Atlantic with a growing number of senior politicians calling for a legal investigation into whether News Corporation broke American laws over the phone-hacking scandal.

Members of Congress from both major parties have waded in to the affair with warnings of “severe” consequences if a report in the Daily Mirror that the News of the World attempted to access the voicemails of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks or other Americans is true.

More here…

Related Story:

• Former Wall St Journal owners: ‘We wouldn’t have sold if we had known’

Read Full Post »

The Spell has been Broken

At the start of this month, says the Guardian, no senior politician dared to defy Rupert Murdoch. Yesterday, all of them did, “and the spell has been broken”.

Rupert Murdoch gives up BSkyB takeover bid

After the biggest single reverse of his career, the News Corp chief faces an appearance before a judicial inquiry and a fight for the right to broadcast in the UK

Patrick Wintour, Dan Sabbagh and Nicholas Watt The Guardian, Thursday 14 July 2011

News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch leaves the offices of News International in London after withdrawing his bid to take over BSkyB. Photograph: Luke MacGregor/Reuters

Rupert Murdoch has capitulated to parliament and abandoned News Corporation‘s £8bn bid for BSkyB, as he faced the prospect of appearing in front of a judicial public inquiry to salvage his personal reputation and the right for his company to continue to broadcast in the UK.

After 10 days of sustained public outcry over phone hacking, and facing the prospect of a unanimous call by MPs to withdraw his bid for total ownership of the broadcaster, Murdoch succumbed at a morning board meeting in Wapping.

More here…

Related Stories:

• Nils Pratley: Don’t bet on another BSkyB bid
• Geoffrey Robertson: Get Murdoch on the stand
• Timothy Garton Ash: Time to break culture of fear
• Editorial: The sky falls in
• Full coverage of the scandal

Gordon Brown: ‘News International bought and sold people’s private innermost feelings’

Former prime minister launches attack on News International in the Commons, accusing it of law breaking on an industrial scale

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 13 July 2011

Read Full Post »